ORLANDO, FLORIDA — A clip from a Disney show teaching kids about “microaggressions” lit up social media on Thursday.
The entertainment giant’s latest child indoctrination product instructs young viewers to obsess over skin color.
Launched in 2022, Rise Up, Sing Out is listed as “Animated, music-based shorts provide an inspiring and empowering message about race, culture and community, celebrate differences, and provide a framework for conversation.”
“PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE”
The clip begins by showing a tan-skinned mother dropping her black son off at school. After a white boy responds by saying: “I didn’t know that was your mom, your skin is so much darker than hers,” a black girl immediately jumps in.
“Hold it,” she says. “Did that comment make you feel uncomfortable? That’s a microaggression!”
The girl then launches into a song about microaggressions, race and “speaking up” about similar, benign comments. She defines “microaggression” as an instance where “someone says and does something that makes you feel bad.”
John DeFeo, an independent media professional, posted his response to the clip in a Twitter thread that garnered over 344,000 views within 24 hours.
This clip is from the Disney Junior show, "Rise Up, Sing Out."
— John W. DeFeo (@johndefeo) May 11, 2023
In my view, what is being depicted in this exchange is closer to psychological abuse than to social emotional learning. Consider the following points:
1/14 pic.twitter.com/4XdZoDrsvz
“In my view, what is being depicted in this exchange is closer to psychological abuse than to social emotional learning,” DeFeo begins.
“To moralize a childhood observation, not even in relative terms such as ‘hurtful,’ but into absolute terms, to be ‘wrong,’ is to risk cultivating shame at a young age,” he continued.
SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES
DeFeo offered a charitable judgment of the creators – suggesting that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” – while others were more critical of the company.
“I'd vote for a president whose goal is to arrest every Disney executive,” one man tweeted.
Another user responded: “#Disney chooses to be poison. No one wants to hate them. They are forcing that choice on us.”
One podcaster quipped to his 23,000 followers: “I wonder why Disney stock is plummeting.”
